Get involved in 2019! Participate in the first Canadian Free From & Allergy Friendly Expo in March, register for an upcoming webinar on the basics of food allergy and anaphylaxis, and attend a support group meeting in your area. Plus, register your child for the next session of Allergy Pals/Allies, a free 8-week online mentorship program that is highly recommended by past participants. Also, be sure to register your 7-11 year old for this month’s Allergy Pals Monthly webinar that’s on managing allergies during outdoor winter activities.
March 2-3 event in Toronto: The Free From & Allergy Friendly Expo
The Free From & Allergy Friendly Expo is Canada’s largest consumer celebration of ‘free from’ food, drink and lifestyle products.
Highlights include:
- 150+ exhibitors
- A celebrity chef kitchen
- Kids zone
- Free swag bags
- Shop and save on hundreds of products
- Seminars
- Beauty lounge
- Sample delicious allergy-friendly products
- Free parking
Food Allergy Canada will be at the conference!
- Stop by our booth (#420) for free resources and information – we’d love to meet you!
- Be sure to attend our session on food labelling, you’ll hear what’s underway to ensure that consumers impacted by food allergy can make informed choices through improved labelling.
Visit freefromexpo.ca to register. Food Allergy Canada members get 15% off online admission tickets, use the discount code FACANADA15 (valid until February 22nd).
Upcoming webinars
- Webinar: Managing food allergy and anaphylaxis
Parent mentors (left to right) Sarah, Elaine and Jen
Attend one of our free webinars that provide fundamental information for managing food allergy and anaphylaxis. These webinars are primarily geared towards parents of children who have been recently diagnosed with a food allergy.
What you’ll takeaway:
- What is food allergy and anaphylaxis
- How to avoid a reaction
- What are the signs and symptoms of anaphylaxis
- What to do in an emergency
Currently, we are offering 90-minute small group webinars (up to 4 participants) to allow for more interaction. Next sessions are January 14 and January 19.
If you have already attended one of these webinars, please help us spread the word so others can also benefit. Please share!
Allergy Pals/Allies 8-week online mentorship program: Next session runs from February 2 to March 24, 2019
This free program includes 8 weekly one-hour online support sessions. There are two sessions offered, broken out by age of the child: Allergy Pals – Ages 7-11, Allergy Allies – Ages 12-15.
Watch this video to learn more about the program.
Once registered, your child will be placed into a group on a day/time convenient for your family. The groups are led by a trained peer mentor with food allergies, under the guidance of a youth program coordinator.
Register your child today for the free 8-week online mentorship program. This program has received outstanding feedback, make sure your child has the opportunity to benefit from it!
- Allergy Pals Monthly for kids: Managing allergies during outdoor winter activities
Join us on January 27th from 7-8 pm EST to talk about managing food allergies during outdoor winter activities (like ski trips and strategies for other winter sports).
Have your 7-11-year-old kids participate in our free Allergy Pals Monthly webinars, which cover key information about managing food allergies.
Each webinar is led by a trained peer mentor with food allergies and there will be plenty of interactive games and activities that will have your child glued to the presentation! Check out one of our previous webinars:
Register your child for the January webinar where they will learn how to manage their food allergies when they are playing outdoor winter sports.
Support groups
Sarah Nicholl and Marni Halter from the Toronto Anaphylaxis Education Group
Check out the support group meeting happening this month!
Support groups provide a warm and caring environment for you to get help in dealing with the day-to-day stress of being at risk of anaphylaxis or having a child who is at risk. Plus, it’s a great way to keep up-to-date on any new developments in the food allergy community. Here are the support group meetings happening this month.
Read about our support group leaders from across the country.
Ontario
Toronto Anaphylaxis Education Group (TAEG)
- Topic: Ask the allergist
- Date: Monday, January 28 from 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm EST
- Location: Edithvale Community Centre, 131 Finch Avenue West, Toronto, ON
- RSVP: info@taeg.ca
Nova Scotia
- Date: Monday, January 28 from 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm AST
- Location: Sobeys in Mill Cove, 955 Bedford Highway, Bedford, NS
- RSVP: Contact Andrea at andrea.macdonald15@gmail.com
To connect with one of our other support groups, visit our support group page. If there isn’t one in your community, we’ll help you get one started.
Tags: allergy allies, Allergy Pals, allergy-friendly food drive, Events, expo, Free From Expo, Get involved, support group meetings, webinars, webinars for kids